Hindu to pronounce upon the real extent of the evil. None but a Hindu
can enter any of the larger temples, and none but a Hindu priest
really knows the truth about their inner mysteries"; whilst the
well-known native scholar Babu Rajendralal Mitra points out
(_Antiquities of Orissa_, i. 111) that "such as they are, these
sculptures date from centuries before the birth of Chaitanya, and
cannot, therefore, be attributed to his doctrines or to his followers.
As a Hindu by birth, and a Vaishnava by family religion, I have had
the freest access to the innermost sanctuaries and to the most secret
of scriptures. I have studied the subject most extensively, and have
had opportunities of judging which no European can have, and I have no
hesitation in saying that, 'the mystic songs' of Jayadeva and the
'ocean of love' notwithstanding, there is nothing in the rituals of
Jagannatha which can be called licentious." Whilst in Chaitanya's
creed, Krishna, in his relations to Radha, remains at least
theoretically the chief partner, an almost inevitable step was taken
by some minor sects in attaching the greater importance to the female
element, and making Krishna's love for his mistress the guiding
sentiment of their faith. Of these sects, it will suffice to mention
that of the Radha-Vallabhis, started in the latter part of the 16th
century, who worship Krishna as Radha-vallabha, "the darling of
Radha." The doctrines and practices of these sects clearly verge upon
those obtaining in the third principal division of Indian sectarians
which will now be considered.
Saktas
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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